Amazon's A9 search engine launches map service

The search engine A9 often is overlooked when Microsoft, Yahoo and Google are battling for market shares and announce new services. But Amazon’s service regularly introduces new features such as a map service that can be used to display street addresses and driving directions. A9 Maps is just about what we are used to from Mapquest and it cannot really touch Google’s Map feature in functionality and ease of use. But there is a twist : A9 does not display satellite imagery, but actual pictures taken at street corners in many US metropolitan areas. This "block view" adds a different touch to a map service, but its usability appears to be very limited. (THG)